


Moving Forward

by bitogoth



Series: Something Different, Something New [3]
Category: Hellboy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/F, F/M, Insanity, Magic, Original Character Death(s), minor gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-12
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:11:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2757353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitogoth/pseuds/bitogoth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wherein Incorrect Assumptions Are Made, And Surprising Allies Are Found</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mission Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally admitted to myself that I'm never going to get back to this story line. I love Alex, but my creative juices have been spread thin by a new fandom, running a D&D 5.0 campaign and *gasp!* another story. I haven't put a single word down yet, but it's been in my head for two years now, so I'm officially laying this story to rest (who knows maybe in another two years I'll finish) to possibly get this other story out of my head and out of the way. I'm not sure I'll be sharing- it's another OC who meets the Avengers by way of Dr. Strange, but is a very different- everything, from what I've been working on here. Wish me luck, and please give me your forgiveness- I am officially labeling this works as *sniff* "abandoned".

Bruce wandered down to the workshop the next morning to find Maria and Tony watching Alex manipulate a number of holographic screens.

"What's this?"

Tony waved him over, "The data algorithm we've been using to track who's trolling the SHIELD dump."

"One of my contacts from EIS sent me a heads-up," Alex explained.

"EIS? How do you know them?"

Alex's eyes flicked to Maria a moment, who gave a small nod.

"Part of my official title at the CIA was Interagency Science Liaison. Any time one of our leads overlapped with another department we needed someone to shepherd the data. Even though I left the agency most of my contacts have kept in touch."

Bruce squinted at the constellation of points hovering around her. "So, what is this?"

"Think of it like a mind-map. Each of these points is a piece of data, clusters are related data." She dragged a small data point over to a cluster and it suddenly doubled, some of the data points larger than others and in different colors. Alex sighed.

"My contact at the EIS has been tracking an international researcher in the CDC who's up to something shifty." She gave Maria a dry look, "This is the sort of thing I'd start researching, and a week or two later my supervisor would tell me another agency was taking over, seize all my data, don't ask any questions, and I'd never hear about it again."

Maria waved a hand indifferently; that was standard SHIELD M.O.

Bruce watched Tony scowl. "I guess this is bad?"

"This Dr. Karis apparently worked on a joint project with Killian."

"Oh," That explained a lot, actually. He looked over at Tony, who was unusually quiet and obviously furious. "Is it Extremis?"

Alex frowned, sliding points around in front of her and watching the changes. "It doesn't appear to be. The EIS thinks that Karis had discovered a new disease vector, but has no indication of what." Her lips twisted in frustration. "The whistleblower who first put the EIS on has since disappeared; we're flying blind at the moment."

Tony slammed a fist on his workbench. "We know where this Karis is, why not just go in and seize the data?"

Maria frowned, "Karis is gone, along with his data and researchers. The CDC is disavowing any knowledge of what he was working on, but they're very nervous. We've had some disturbing reports that he might have gotten his hands on an 0-8-4."

Tony blinked and looked annoyed, "A whoziwhatnow?"

Hill glowered at him but Tony was unfazed. "An object of unknown origin," she ground out. "Usually we'd send a team to check it out, but the Bus is already on assignment elsewhere. I'm going to send Clint and Natasha."

"I want in. If it's AIM I need to be there," Tony demanded. Maria made a frustrated gesture- clearly this wasn't the first time it had come up. "If he's still trying to develop super-soldiers there's going to be a fight; we can send the Avengers."

"No..." Maria began, but Alex cleared her throat. Hill frowned but waved her to continue.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to have on-the-ground backup, just in case. However I expect this to me more of an intel mission, and having someone who has seen Extremis tech firsthand would be useful." Tony shoulders unclenched slightly and he gave Alex a quick nod.

Bruce tapped his glasses against his lips while he thought. "You expect a biologic?"

"With the EIS and CDC involved it seems logical, but if it's truly an 0-8-4, then who knows?" Alex replied. Hill was giving Bruce a speculative look, but didn't say anything.

Tony turned to the physicist. "Science bros on a mission? Between the two of us we'd be more than enough brain and firepower."

"Wait a minute, you are NOT co-opting this mission...," Maria couldn't figure out when she started to lose control. Oh yeah, the moment she started working with  _Stark_.

"No no no, this is good. Hawkboy and the Red Menace can do the stealthy spy-stuff, and Bruce and I can evaluate data and/or wreck the house, as needed. It's a good team."

Now it was Alex's turn to be annoyed. "You're going to have to follow my lead; it's my contact who's at risk trying to track down Karis right now, and AIM has been up to its elbows dredging through SHIELD files- I need to know if there's a connection."

A faint smile was playing around Maria's lips. "Right. A team of five- that leaves Cap and Falcon in case anything else comes up. Approved."

Tony's eyes narrowed; he had a feeling he'd just been played, and yet gotten exactly what he wanted. Not for the first time he wondered about the topic of conversation at those coffee chats Hill and Pepper kept having.

Alex wiped her display. "Give me 24 hours to set up a meet with my contact; if he has anything for us then we can act."

"Right," Tony clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Meanwhile, give me everything you have on Karis and I'll do some digging."

"Already done, Sir," JARVIS supplied.

Tony gave Alex a suspicious look and she smirked. "Blonde hellion."


	2. Mission Parameters

The team met in Briefing Room C the next day. Alex looked pale and smudged around the eyes; she clearly hadn't had much sleep. She and Maria were having a low-voiced discussion (that wasn't _quite_ an argument) but broke off abruptly as they filed in. Steve and Sam wouldn't be on this op, but they wanted to stay in the loop so they sat in as Alex passed out folders.

"We've had new intel," Hill began, then nodded to Alex.

"My contact tracked down the missing informant. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell us much. According to witnesses, he clawed his eyes out and then threw himself out the seventeenth-story window of a midtown hotel."

Half the room winced and Sam gave a low whistle. "Any idea why?"

"Not yet. There was no sign of anything unusual in his blood, no drugs or psychotropics." Bruce and Tony huddled over the autopsy report, muttering between themselves.

Hill continued, "We have located one of Karis' assistants."

Tony's head snapped up. "Where?!"

"Connecticut. But she wasn't able to tell us anything."

Bruce frowned, "Why not?"

Alex pointed to a yellow page in the briefing packet, "Because she's insane. They found her wandering along the highway, covered with dirt and scratches, babbling incoherently. They haven't been able to get any sense out of her and have her restrained in a maximum-security facility for now."

Bruce scanned the document quickly, "Nothing about drugs here either; just dehydrated. From the infection in the cuts she couldn't have been out there more than a day or so."

"That tallies with what EIS gave me- it looks like Karis was running a separate lab in upstate Connecticut. We're going to check it out. It's under surveillance now; power's on but no one has been in or out. We leave now. Any questions?"

"Has Karis been seen in the area?" Tony tossed the report aside and glared at Maria.

"Yes, individuals meeting his description and two of his known assistants, including the one we just picked up, were seen in the last 72 hours."

"Then let's move; suit up." Tony was already out the door.

Bruce kept flipping through the files, "I don't see anything here that implies biologics, do you really need us?" He glanced up and was surprised to catch a tight, unhappy look on Alex's face, which immediately smoothed as she saw him looking.

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "What do you suspect?"

Maria frowned and gave her a short shake of her head. "We're not sure. You'll find out and report back and we'll take appropriate measures from there. Our main concern is an Extremis offshoot; focus on that."

"They've already cleared out, haven't they?" Clint asked, lazily spinning his chair back and forth. Maria scowled; the Avengers were challenging to wrangle individually, but Stark's bad influence was spreading; some days she missed Coulson's ability to keep things running smoothly, but he was otherwise occupied.

"Most likely, but we need data retrieval and if this is anything like Centipede they may have left some surprises."

"Are you sure you don't need us?" Steve's concern was obvious and some of the tension left Maria's shoulders.

"Not for now, but stay in touch. And now you'd better get moving before Stark leaves without the rest of you."

Alex gave a soft snort, "I'm the only one with coordinates for a reason."

The group broke and headed out, but the Director held Alex back for a moment, "Remember to follow protocols, _Agent_." Alex gave a tight, unhappy nod and stalked past Bruce and Natasha, who exchanged a quick a glance, then followed.

***

The quinjet set down in the deserted lot of an industrial park. It was Sunday so anyone with legitimate business shouldn't be in, but the obvious neglect made it clear that the area had seen better days; barely a third of the offices had signs on the doors. As they spread out and approached the building, JARVIS chimed in, "There have been no power fluctuations. Director Hill is attempting to obtain the recording you requested, Agent Harrow."

"Thanks, JARVIS."

"Recording?" Bruce looked puzzled.

"I wanted to see if the babbling had anything in it that would make sense to SHIELD, but apparently the doctors are busy so Hill had to send someone to make the recording."

"Do you really think there's something useful there?"

"I doubt it, but if it's another language then maybe Thor can translate when he gets back."

"Are we going to do this or not?" Tony was losing patience. Clint and Natasha had already scouted the perimeter of the building; unlike the other offices with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, this particular building only had one entrance and no windows to speak of.

Natasha listened to her comm for a moment, "No heat signatures, so it's empty or well-shielded."

Tony raised a hand and Alex stepped abruptly in front of him. "We don't go in blasting; we need info and evidence." He grunted and stepped aside as Natasha pried a card-swipe panel open and then clipped something to the wires. Clint eased the door handle, then nodded and Nat and Alex flanked him, both women suddenly armed. Tony huffed but Bruce held back behind him, trying to keep his breathing even.

The reception area was completely ordinary; a few plastic chairs with ugly upholstery, a couple 'workplace safety' signs on the walls, and a bare receptionist's desk. The lights were out and the HVAC didn't seem to be working- the air was musty with an odd, dusty scent that made Clint's nose itch.

The door next to the receptionist's area was locked, but Nat slipped over the desk and opened it from the other side. So far no alarms had sounded that they were aware of and it was deathly quiet.

Behind the front desk was a maze of cubicles, empty and abandoned. They slowly spread out, checking storerooms and lavatories but the place was deserted. Tony ran scans constantly and signaled to the rest that there was something in a janitor's closet. Clint quickly jimmied the lock and they found a staircase. Tony breathed a soft "Ha!" This hadn't been on the blueprints. There was some scuffling as he tried to push to the front but Natasha stared him down; the suit was not quiet and so far nothing had broken the absolute silence.

Natasha slipped down first with Clint just behind. A minute later there was a 'click' on the comms and Alex and Bruce followed with Tony in the rear. At the bottom was a heavy security door and Nat repeated her trick with the card reader. Alex stepped behind the door with Nat and the others moved to the side as Clint eased the door open, then suddenly froze and the tension skyrocketed as he whispered, "One body." Clint opened the door and carefully stepped around the corpse lying face-down just inside the door.

Clint and Nat fanned out, quickly sweeping the cavernous space filled with a jumble of computers, lab equipment, and stacks of file boxes, mostly overturned. Bruce slipped on a pair of nitrile gloves and started examining the corpse. Nat and Clint both radioed in "Clear", and Tony found a lightswitch and flicked it on. Everyone relaxed somewhat and gathered around the body.

"What have we got?" He was frustrated that they were obviously too late and started booting up computers to see what he could find.

Nat crouched over one of the spilled file boxes, rifling through until she help up a sheet, "Karis".

"Fuck." They turned in Tony's direction to find him shaking as he looked down at a table with restraints. "Fucking AIM. Fucking Killian!" He flipped the table and stood there, breathing heavily.

Alex stepped forward, "Wait a minute..." just as Bruce said, "This isn't good."

"No, it's _fucking_ not!" But Bruce hushed him.

"Look." He pointed to the smears of blood on the inside of the door and the raw fingertips of the corpse. "He was locked in and tried to claw his way out. Been here at least two, maybe three days; looks like heart failure."

Clint and Natasha had already redrawn their weapons and backed towards the door, but Alex was more engrossed by the floor under the examining table. She reached to her ear and frowned. "Anyone have a comm signal out?" They shook their heads.

"It's shielded, no cell signal either," Tony added. He frowned as Alex crouched and tentatively touched the floor. "What have you got?"

She nodded them over, "Don't touch anything." Drawn on the floor was an elaborate pentagram, with drips of wax showing where candles have been placed.

"What is this? A scare attraction?" Tony scoffed but Alex was frowning.

"I wish Thor was here."

Bruce cleaned his glasses nervously. "Magic?"

"Maybe; I'm not ruling anything out. Look around for anything odd but don't touch  _anything_."

Tony groaned, "I _hate_ magic."

"Yeah, me too, but that means it's probably not Extremis." Alex stood, wiping her hands on her pants nervously and before stalking around the room, scanning the littered workstations.

"Over here," Clint called. A free-standing dry erase board had been knocked over at some point, and what had started out as equations devolved into a strange, serpentine script that carried on to the wall and surrounded another pentagram.

"Okay, we're out. _Now_." Alex started herding the group towards the door.

Bruce was frowning at the math but followed orders. "That doesn't make any sense..."

"I wouldn't expect it to," but before Alex could explain further, Tony called out.

"What is this writing? I can almost read it..." 

Alex looked at the carved ivory box that Tony was slowly turning in his hands and the blood drained from her face.

"JARVIS! _Copernicus_!"

Tony froze, his faceplate snapping shut, and they could hear him shouting furiously. " _What the hell_? JARVIS, override! What's going on?"

JARVIS' smooth tones apologized, "I'm sorry Sir, but this is for your own protection."

Alex scooped the box out of Tony's hands and quickly wrapped it in her jacket, careful not to look too closely at it. "JARVIS, get Tony outside and contact Maria, tell her we need Strange, _now_." She turned to her teammates; Nat and Clint were both armed and slowly turning, unsure of where the threat was. Bruce was tense and looking a bit green.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Tony?"

Alex shoved the operating table the rest of the way off the pentagram and placed the wrapped box in the center, then began shuffling through boxes. "He's compromised. Look around, there should be a container of salt somewhere." Bruce stared in horror as the iron man suit stiffly walked out of the room, Tony clearly not in control.

Clint held up a blue cylinder, "How did you know?" and tossed it to her.

"If they're dabbling in magic they need salt." She shook the canister, then nodded and carefully poured the salt in a even stream, tracing the outer circle until it made an unbroken loop. Alex tossed aside the empty container and dug something out of her bag, then slipped it on over her head and under her shirt. "Okay, now we all leave. Let's go."

Nat looked unhappy but she double-timed it out, Alex and Bruce behind her and Clint bringing up the rear. They regrouped at the quinjet to find Tony sitting in silence.

"Okay, Alex, _now what the hell_?" Clint was trying not to freak out, but he kind of was anyway and Nat squeezed his shoulder.

"JARVIS, how is Tony?" Alex was already on the phone, trying to reach Maria.

"His blood pressure was spiking dangerously and Sir was demanding to further examine the box. He seemed more concerned about the script than by being restrained. I had to administer a sedative."

"I'm sorry you had to do that, JARVIS, but good work. By the time he wakes up he should be fine." Bruce hunched over Tony and JARVIS raised the faceplate so Bruce could check eye dilation and pulse. Bruce trusted JARVIS, but this was all too weird and he needed some reassurance.

Clint was pacing angrily as Alex stepped aside and began a heated argument with the Director. Nat watched her coolly, then turned to the agitated archer and said in a low voice, "Alex knows what's going on, she'll tell us in a minute."

"How can you know?" Bruce drifted over to his side and listened in.

Nat looked Clint in the eye and replied, "I trust Alex."

Clint froze for a moment, then the tension drained out of him and he rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, yeah, I, sorry..."

Nat shrugged one shoulder, turning back to watch Alex pace angrily. "I don't like this either."

Alex ended the call and glared at the phone for minute, then mimicked Clint and rubbed a hand over her face, her fingers drifting to touch the necklace she'd put on. She turned to the group. "Strange and Clea can't be reached. Hill is sending a containment team."

"What's going on?" Nat's voice was quiet but firm; they needed answers.

Alex's eyes ranged over the group and she gave a short nod. "It's magic. The writing has a compulsion to translate it. It's extremely dangerous and if Karis is still alive then he's been compromised." She frowned. "I hate cultists."

"Is the box the 0-8-4?"

"Most likely." She sighed, then turned to the agents. "I've seen this before and I don't think SHIELD can handle it."

"So, what do you suggest?" Bruce crossed his arms, hunched and nervous.

"Without Strange we need someone who can handle heavy magic."

Clint shrugged, "The SHIELD team..."

"Will drop it in the Fridge at best. At worst they'll study it."

Nat and Clint exchanged a look, then turned back to Alex. "What do you propose?"

She looked around the team. "I know someone, but it will take the 0-8-4 out of SHIELD hands." Alex looked unhappy. "I'll take full responsibility."

Bruce realized what she was saying, "Is it really that dangerous?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation or doubt.

Nat looked around, then slowly nodded. "We're behind you; make the call."


	3. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My first crossover! Please forgive me if there's a *little* build-up before the reveal. Fake Internet-points to anyone who figures it out before I post the next chapter. ;D

Alex dialed and partially turned away. Bruce nudged Natasha. "What will Maria do?"

She shrugged one shoulder but frowned slightly.

Clint supplied, "She'll be furious. She might yank Alex from the team if they don't just fire her." They stood and quietly considered that as Alex waited on hold.

"I am sure that Sir will offer her a place," JARVIS said, "he has stated as much before."

"Once he forgives her," Clint smirked a little. Alex straightened as her call connected and the group turned their attention to the conversation.

"John? It's Alex, Alexa Harrow."

...

"Yes, it's good to hear your voice, too. How are you?"

...

"That's good!"

...

"Yeah, I bet," she chuckled.

...

"Listen, John I..."

...

"No, I'm not with them any more."

...

"A different agency, but I'm still in New York."

...

"Uh, sure, that would be nice. Maybe after this current problem is taken care of?" Alex looked over at the group, a little embarrassed. Nat cocked an eyebrow and smirked. Alex blushed and turned back to the call, while Clint and Bruce exchanged a confused look.

...

"Yeah, about that, it looks like a Copernicus situation." The tone of the conversation immediately changed.

...

Alex rattled off their location. "How soon can you be here?"

...

"Do it. And thanks, John. See you soon." She hung up and let out a sigh, then turned to the team. "Make yourselves comfortable, they should be here in half an hour, 45 minutes max. They were already in the area, probably on the same trail,"

"So, do we find out what's going on now?" Bruce asked, sitting on the ramp of the quinjet as Clint leaned against the side.

Alex sat on the curb and nodded. "Right, story time."

***

"I can't give you too many details," Alex began, apologetic. "It was an interagency mission, trying to track down a terrorist group that was building a cell here in the US. At least, that's what we thought." She frowned a moment, then continued.

"The FBI intercepted what they thought were written directions to the cell, but they couldn't translate it. It didn't match any known languages or scripts, so they thought it was a new code language. I knew the guy who worked on it first; he started getting terrible migraines with auras. Thankfully, he didn't work on the manuscript long enough for permanent damage."

"Manuscript?" Bruce asked, digging in his pocket for a power bar.

"It was handwritten. Since the CIA was coordinating on the op, they sent me with the FBI team to the NSA to see if they could decode it. The NSA had an AI they were developing just for this sort of situation, and I was working with them on and off."

"Let me guess, Copernicus." Clint chewed lazily on a stem of grass; Nat gave the grass a dubious look.

"In one," Alex nodded. "We scanned the pages with OCR and set Copernicus to work." She looked away, troubled.

Bruce leaned his elbows on his knees and clasped his wrists. "What happened?"

She turned and stared intently at the Iron Man armor where JARVIS listened silently. "Copernicus went haywire, spewing illegible text and speaking an unknown language. Thankfully he was a black box with an independent generator- no Internet access. One of his engineers started suffering from seizures; another slit her wrists."

"Fuck," Clint muttered, and shuddered, but Nat stared at her intently.

"That was when we met."

Alex gave a nod and a wry smile, "Yeah, it was an eventful day."

Clint's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't know?" Nat slowly shook her head but a small smile played across her lips; Alex had clearly just gone up in her estimation.

"At that point the FBI called in a special unit to deal with the situation. We evacuated all non-essential personnel from the lab but I stayed with Copernicus' remaining handler in the hope that we could restore his programming."

"I am sure that you did all you could, Agent Harrow."

Alex smiled sadly, "Thanks JARVIS. The special unit was able to, I guess 'cleanse' for lack of a better word, Copernicus but he had to be completely wiped. We had his seed code, but they're still rebuilding his capability."

Bruce looked at the Iron Man suit thoughtfully, "And you told JARVIS?"

Alex nodded, "I felt he had the right to know. Now I'm doubly-glad I did."

"As am I, Agent Harrow. Sir was clearly affected even from his short exposure to the artifact."

"With Tony's genius and gift for languages he was the most at risk."

"And you aren't." As usual, Nat didn't actually ask a question; she knew the answer.

"You can avoid the traps if you know what to look for, and I have added protection." She pulled the necklace chain, displaying an ancient bronze coin with something etched on each side. Bruce leaned forward and Alex met him halfway, letting him inspect the pendant without removing it.

"Is this Futhark?" She nodded and he flipped to the other side, "But this looks, Phoenician?" Alex nodded again, impressed.

"Don't ask me what it says, I didn't make it." Bruce looked a little closer at the bead strung on the necklace that appeared to be carved from bone and had something marked on it, but he didn't recognize it if it was another language.

Alex supplied, "Ogham runes. It's pretty thorough."

Clint looked skeptical. "And it's supposed to protect you from what, exactly?"

Alex looked uncomfortable and cleared her throat before replying. "Magical influence, particularly through the written word."

Bruce looked thoughtful. "So, it was a magical book? And just reading it made people insane?"

"The word they used was 'possessed'." Alex looked away and rubbed her eyes.

"Right. This whole thing is creepy." Clint declared as he spit out the grass.

"No argument here." They all jumped as Tony's voice issued from the armor.

"Welcome back, how are you feeling?" Bruce stood and and moved over to Tony, checking his eyes and getting an annoyed look in response.

"I have a hell of a headache, and I am seriously pissed that you subverted my AI, Harrow."

"How much of the conversation did you catch?" Alex asked, completely unapologetic.

"Enough. Magic book, possesses everyone who reads it. I take it the box is the same?"

"Without looking closer than is safe I'm willing to bet the manuscript was based on the artifact." Alex sighed.

"What happened to the book? And when you will let me move again?"

"We burned the manuscript and wiped all the digital copies. It would be safest if JARVIS stayed in control until this place is cleared out as well." Tony humpfed but surprisingly didn't argue. Bruce fed him a couple Tylenol and a sip of water to wash it down.

"I have already erased all video record of the artifact, Agent Harrow."

She nodded, "Good thinking, JARVIS."

"So how much longer do we wait for this mysterious cavalry of yours?" Tony griped, but Clint was already straightening up- he'd spotted a truck turning into the far side of the parking lot.

Alex stood up and brushed off her pants. "That's them."

Bruce adjusted his glasses. "Is that- a garbage truck?"


	4. Red Right Hand

The truck backed as close to the door as possible and a suit swung down from the front cab. Alex walked over with a wave, the Avengers following and JARVIS piloting Tony for introductions (much to his annoyance).

Alex smiled and shook hands, "Hi, John. Thanks for coming. This is my team," she explained, waving to the group. "This is John Myers of the BPRD."

John turned to the group and blinked a few times. "Uh, hi. Your new agency is... the Avengers?"

"SHIELD, technically. This is Tony Stark." JARVIS dutifully waved a hand and Tony rolled his eyes. "Hawkeye."

"Yo," Clint gave a wave and John's eyes fixed on the bow in Clint's hands.

"Black Widow." Natasha gave a nod and John swallowed, then nodded politely in return.

"Dr. Bruce Banner," John looked visibly relieved to be introduced to someone without a deadly reputation and offered his hand, "...also known as the Hulk." His face froze but Bruce shook his hand anyway with a wry chuckle.

"Right. Nice to... meet you." He turned back to Alex. "Did you tell them...?"

At that moment the back of the garbage truck split open and a voice bellowed from inside, " _Blondie!_ " Something enormous and red swung out and scooped Alex up in a hug that left her feet dangling six inches off the ground. Bruce gave a start and Nat quickly put a hand on his shoulder, speaking quietly in his ear. Clint half-drew his bow and JARVIS snapped the faceplate shut, just in case.

"Red! How are you?"

He set her down and removed the unlit cigar from his mouth. "The usual, you know how it is." He turned and gave the group a singularly unimpressed look. "Your new team, huh? How'd you end up with the tights-and-capes crowd?"

"Long story," she chuckled. "Everyone, this is Hellboy."

Clint looked vaguely offended and muttered, "I don't wear tights..." but gave a polite nod anyway. Tony's faceplate opened and the two examined each other.

"Nice beard, big guy."

Red gave a polite nod, "You, too."

"What kind of cigar is that...?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're on a time schedule. Our watchers have probably reported in already and are on the way to intercept," Alex explained.

"Huh," Red rolled his cigar thoughtfully, "don't trust the new guys any more than the old ones, do ya?"

She paused, "I know you will destroy it if you can. I've seen what it can do."

He nodded shortly, "Right. Show the way." Alex headed in with Hellboy just behind.

John shrugged, a little apologetic, "He, uh, doesn't get out much," and scurried after them, a few other suits following.

Tony blinked. "Well, no wonder she gets on with the Hulk so well. Better keep an eye on them; I guess I'll stay here. With the garbage truck." He sighed melodramatically but the rest of the team were already through the door.

***

In the basement, Alex directed John and the agents to sort through the piles of papers and Natasha moved to the computers. "Take anything with the script on it, SHIELD will take the rest. Hopefully we can find something to track Karis."

Hellboy moved straight to the pentagram and grunted. "That it?"

"Yes. Ivory box, about so large," she gestured with her hands.

"Good work on the circle."

"It was already there, we just sealed it."

"Got your talisman?"

"Right here," Alex tapped her collarbone.

"Good girl." His tail flicked out, breaking the salt circle, and stepped inside, picking up the wrapped box. "Your jacket?" Alex nodded and he tossed it to her, giving the box a quick look. "Nasty." He set it back down and stepped out of the circle, closing it with salt again. "Okay, I got this now."

Hellboy rummaged through his pockets, then gave a satisfied grunt as he removed a small copper bowl. He muttered under his breath as he added an assortment of ingredients, grinding them together with a stone finger.

"Right, everyone stay back." The BPRD agents had scurried around, moving everything away from the circle. He held the bowl out cupped in both hands and began chanting as the contents burst into a sickly yellow-green flame.

Bruce leaned towards Alex, "Is this safe?"

She glanced over to the circle and bit her lip. "Mostly. Red can handle just about anything, but spells are tricky, even for an expert."

"Will they really destroy it?"

"He'll try, and if he can't then they'll contain it."

"Why not just let Strange or SHIELD handle it then?" He didn't mean to question her judgement, but this was outside his usual sphere.

"Because this is dangerous, Bruce." She turned and looked at him earnestly, hoping to make him understand. "This is Old Gods and summoning-the-end-of-the-world dangerous. Strange would respect and contain it, but he's not here, and I'm not sure that he would destroy it. And SHIELD would study it. It looks like Karis was trying to learn how the language worked. Could you imagine taking over someone's mind just by having them read something? I don't think he could succeed, but this is way too risky to have in  _anyone's_  hands, much less AIM. What I'm worried about now is where is Karis and why he left the box behind."

Bruce nodded slowly; he didn't trust  _any_ government agency, so her hesitation seemed prudent. While SHIELD might be improving, they knew that the agency's idea of what is in the public's best interest didn't always coincide with what the common person wanted. He sighed. "What next?"

Alex was watching Hellboy intently and nodded in his direction, "That."

The chanting had grown in volume, the last few words shouted at the top of his voice, when the salt ring burst into the same yellow-green flames as the bowl. A beam of...dark light?... opened over the box and it burned in purple-black flames in total silence. As the box scorched, the crawling letters seemed to glow orange and Hellboy shouted, "Don't look!"

They quickly turned away as a nauseating stench emanated from the burning box. Finally it was over. "Okay, it's safe now." Alex and Bruce turned back to watch a BPRD agent gingerly step over the blackened circle, no longer burning, and use a small dust buster to suck up the pile of ash. Hellboy dropped the now-empty bowl back in his pocket and dusted off his hands in satisfaction.

Other agents had already cleaned the dry erase board and washed off the wall. Natasha nodded to Alex, indicating they had the files from the computers. Alex sighed.

"Thanks, Red. Was that the same thing you were tracking?"

"Yeah. John will let you know if we get any leads on your guy."

"Thanks. I better go face the music."

Hellboy frowned and Bruce wondered if the Hulk was as intimidating with the same look on his face. "You gonna get in trouble over this?"

She shrugged, "Probably. But it's worth it; I'll sleep a lot better at night."

Red nodded in approval, "Good girl." Bruce thought it sounded condescending, but Alex didn't seem bothered; it just seemed to be his way. "You ever need a job, you know where we are. You should come visit, Liz would love to see you again. And one of the cats had kittens!"

Alex laughed and smiled, giving the demon a hug. "I'll do that. John wants to meet up, and it would be great to see Liz and Abe again."

"Yeah, I'll be he does," Red waggled his eyebrows and Alex rolled her eyes, then blushed when she saw Bruce staring.

She looked around. "Looks like your guys are almost done and just in time; reinforcements should be here shortly." Sure enough, the BPRD had packed up, leaving a drift of loose papers for SHIELD to deal with.

"Yeah, I gotta get back in the truck." He shrugged, ruefully, and Bruce found himself sympathizing. 

Bruce held out his hand, "Nice meeting you." Hellboy's eyebrows shot up, but he shook hands.

"Nice meeting you, Doc. It's always nice to see a friendly face." He looked thoughtfully at Bruce for a moment, then gestured with his cigar between Bruce and Alex and gave her a questioning look. She rolled her eyes and gave him a shove.

"Get going before you make John look for you," she said, but laughed a little as Red waved and clomped up the stairs. Bruce gave her a questioning look. "He's kind of a yenta. If you think the _Avengers_ are gossips..." she laughed and shook her head and he followed her up the stairs.

The BPRD truck was already pulling away and John leaned out for one last wave. Alex took out her phone just as the first SHIELD vehicle pulled in from the other side of the parking lot. "This should be... fun." She looked at the list of missed calls on her phone and selected the most recent one, turning away as Maria's voice began yelling in her ear.

Natasha started directing the new batch of agents in to collect the remaining files and Tony begged, "If it's safe now, can I move? Pleeeease?" Alex gave a distracted wave and JARVIS relinquished control, much to Tony's relief.


	5. Time Off

Alex methodically packed, rolling up clothes and tucking them into a black duffle. She'd done this many times over the years. There had been a brief period in her early teens after Dad left the service that she hadn't had to pack and move every two years, when he joined the force and they stayed in one house long enough for her to graduate high school. But then she was off to college, Langley, and a series of assignments in anonymous government buildings, for weeks or months, each a different agency and yet essentially the same.

She had a lot of practice at packing.

Hill had laid down the law; two weeks suspension. When Alex returned there would be an inquiry review to decide what happened next. She was to leave her StarkPhone, -Pad, and swipe card. The implication was clear; she might not be back.

Stark had defended her, arguing that this was "...her _apartment_ for god's sake. You can't kick her out of her home!" Alex appreciated the sentiment, especially from Tony, but she was removed from anything to do with Karis or the science team and she couldn't stay disengaged if she was in the Tower. That was fine with Alex, she needed some time to sort things out.

"Agent Harrow, Agent Romanov is here to see you."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

Natasha leaned casually against the doorframe, eyes flicking to the half-filled bag. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I'm done packing." Nat drifted over and started folding shirts, handing them to Alex to be added to the bag. "Will you look after my plant while I'm gone?"

"Can't do that." Alex started in surprise, then caught a hint of a smile at the corner of Nat's mouth. "Clint and I have some vacation time owed us," she continued, casually. "Maria has taken the Avengers off the Karis case, so we have some free time."

A smile slowly blossomed on Alex's face and she turned back to packing. "Oh yeah? Any plans?"

Nat shrugged offhandedly, "Not yet. We're mulling over ideas."

"Well," Alex accepted a couple pairs of folded jeans from Nat, "I thought I'd head up to the cabin; there's plenty of room if you'd like to come. I know Enos would love to see you again."

Nat made a show of considering as she tossed a stream of rolled-up socks to Alex, who quickly caught and tucked them in a corner of the bag. "Well, if you're sure we won't be in the way..." Their eyes met and both women smiled, Alex impulsively pulling her in for a quick hug.

" _Thank God_. Can I put this stuff down now?" Clint griped from the doorway with a grin on his face. He carried his and Nat's bags, his bow case slung over a shoulder. Bruce hovered behind with a bag of his own, smiling uncertainly.

Alex laughed, tension she wasn't aware of carrying easing from her shoulders. "Sure. You coming, too, Bruce?"

He shrugged a little, nervously, "...if the offer still stands..."

Alex grinned, her smile wiping away all doubt, "Of course it does! I hope you packed swimming trunks."

"Agent Harrow, I have taken the liberty of asking Miss Lewis to look after your plant while you are away."

"Thank you, Jarvis! I already told her she could clean out my fridge, so that works great." Alex tucked a flannel shirt and a grey hoodie into the top of her bag and zipped it shut. "That's it for me- are you guys ready to go?" Bruce and Clint nodded, while Nat retrieved her bag. 

"So, where is this place, anyway?" Clint shifted his bags and they followed Alex to the elevator.

"Lower Peninsula, just north of Glennie near Huron National Forest."

Clint blinked. "Okaay, I don't know what any of those words mean." Nat rolled her eyes while Bruce and Alex chuckled.

"It's in the woods, on a lake, and there's lots of trails for hiking." She looked doubtfully at the bow. "You won't be able to hunt without a license, though, and deer archery season isn't until October..."

Clint shrugged, "That's okay, I can still do target practice."

The doors slid open to Tony's workshop and Alex hesitated, "Jarvis, this isn't the garage?"

"My apologies, Agent Harrow, that I did not explain. Sir ordered that your vehicle be moved to his private garage."

Alex looked confused. "Why?" They drifted into the workshop to see Alex's four-door truck, various tools scattered around it and a pair a legs sticking out from underneath.

"So I could check it over, _duh,_ " was Tony's sardonic reply as he rolled from under the truck and sat up, wiping his oily hands on a rag. "Can't have you heading off with some of my favorite people just for this death-trap to break down."

Tony's hair was sticking straight up- he'd obviously run his oily hands through it a few times, unaware, and his face was covered with smudges. Alex's "Hey!" was only mildly offended; he must have started on the truck as soon as he heard about her suspension.

They swung their bags into the bed and Nat crossed her arms. "So, how many bugs will I find?"

Tony gave a cheeky grin in return, "Depends on how well you search!" Nat gave him a withering look but Tony just chortled smugly.

"Thanks, Tony." Alex leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek that Tony pretended to ignore.

"I'm still mad at your for subverting my AI, Harrow- we haven't settled that."

Alex rolled her eyes and grinned, "Yes, Tony."

He huffed and waved them off, "Get out of my sight, drive safe, and do everything that I would do!" They swung into the cab laughing, Clint taking shotgun for the first leg.

Alex navigated to the private exit and they turned on to the first street heading north.

"How long is the trip?" Bruce asked as Nat kicked off her shoes and swung her feet into his lap.

"Twelve hours, minimum, depends on traffic. I usually pull over for a nap somewhere for an hour or two; we can either stay at a motel or swap off and drive straight through."

Nat shrugged, using Clint's hoodie as a pillow and snuggling down to make herself comfortable. "We'll play it by ear."

That sounded good to the rest of the group and Alex smiled into the rear-view mirror, meeting eyes with Bruce. "Seriously, thanks for coming."

Nat had Clint's hood draped over her eyes, ready for a nap. "Don't thank us yet, you haven't heard Clint snore."

They laughed as Clint mock-furiously denied it and Natasha kicked his seat to settle him down. They turned onto the first of many highways and Bruce smiled out the window; it was nice to going somewhere again.

***

They took the trip in easy stages, taking turns driving (except for Bruce) and rotating seats. Clint demanded that they have their picture taken next to a red cowboy boot in Pennsylvania advertising "Tepee Town" (Clint was delighted because the town was Bartonsville and texted the picture to Darcy), and that set the tone for the rest of the trip.

After that they had to go out of their way for "Bill's Old Bike Barn", which in addition to an impressive collection of motorcycles and a couple buffalo statues, had a Hitler mannequin overlooking an entire town. They wandered through the offbeat museum in awe, Clint excitedly pointing out details, Natasha as close to confused as Alex had ever seen her, and Bruce musing thoughtfully on the dinosaurs out front. Alex texted a picture to Steve that they found a Hitler he hadn't punched yet and they all giggled like eight-year-olds.

They stopped for lunch at a place with the "World's Largest Burgers" and Clint  _had_ to try and get his picture on the wall. He barely made it halfway through the 15-pound monster. After that Clint huddled in the back seat (" _Aw, burger, nooo..."_ ) while Alex threatened to leave him on the side of the road if he puked in her truck. Bruce chuckled indulgently and fished out some Tums for the suffering archer. Nat was completely unsympathetic, nibbling on fries in the front seat with her bare feet propped on the dash, "I told you so." 

They made better time after that and Clint quickly recovered, but they vetoed his request to check out the medical museum in Ohio. ("No, Clint." "But,  _Naaaaat..._ " "NO.") The weather was perfect and they had the windows rolled down. Alex cycled through one of the most eclectic playlists Bruce had ever heard. When "American Pie" came up she started singing along, Clint joined, and Bruce added his voice on a whim. Nat rolled her eyes but sang along as well, adding a skilled harmony that surprised everyone. After that they sang along with half-a-dozen songs, Clint offering to record it and Nat stealing his phone until the fit passed. The two wrestled in the back seat until Alex threatened to "turn this truck around" and Bruce had to wipe his eyes he was laughing so hard.

Alex decided to take them off the main highway and they paralleled Erie for a while, enjoying the breeze and the sun shining on the rippling water. They hopped back on the highway to bypass Toledo, and since it was getting late they skipped the Uncle Sam Statue and grabbed dinner just outside Ann Arbor. After some debate they decided to stay in a motel and finish the drive in the morning; they were in no rush and Clint was hoping for a couple more roadside attractions.

Everyone woke up early the next morning (Clint may have had some help), so after breakfast at a waffle place they hit the road again. Alex took a slight detour to Frankenmuth, where they wandered through Bronner's Christmas Wonderland and emerged two and a half hours later, each with a bag of Christmas-themed merchandise and a stunned look on their faces. After that they visited the Cheese Haus. By the time they were done with the free samples no one wanted lunch and Bruce was looking a little green (in a non-Hulk kind of way). They decided to skip the model trains and jumped back on the highway heading north.

The state road wound through scattered farmland, slowly fading into the forest, and the rich, green scent of trees filled the truck. The music was off, and Alex wore her hair in a simple braid down her back, smiling at the miles of trees and the dappled sunlight falling through the branches. There was a contemplative quiet and Bruce sighed softly, "Reminds me of Bella Coola." Nat gave a soft "Hm" that might have been agreement.

They pulled into Glennie, which could be described a town only in the loosest sense of the word. There was one main cross-street with a four-way stop. On the corner was a general store where Alex pulled in for supplies. One of the owners, an older woman, recognized Alex right away and bustled around from behind the counter to give her a hug.

"Alex dearie! It's so good to see ya! Who's your friends? You stayin' long?" She yelled over her shoulder, " _HERBERT!_ Alexa's here!" and they all flinched at the impressive volume.

Alex laughed, "Phyllis, you might remember my friend Nat, and this is Clint and Bruce." Clint nodded and gave a polite "M'am" while Bruce shook hands.

"Any friend of the Harrows. You kids gonna be drinkin' up on the lake?"

"Now Phyl, they're gettin' a bit along for that, don't'cha think?" Herbert appeared from a door behind the till and enveloped Alex in a massive hug.

"Don't stop you and Enos from tyin' one on while you're fishin', now does it?" They kept up a steady stream of chatter as the four shopped. One end of the main room had an old-time post office and shelf of penny-candy. A good selection of camping gear and canned foods made it clear who the main clientele was.

"Will that be all?" Phyl asked as she rung them up.

"Yep- we'll get our eggs from Enos."

"You tell him hello now for us, won't you?"

"Of course, see you later!"

They loaded up the groceries and Alex backed out of the lot, turning further into the forest. Clint blinked a few times, "Reminds me of Iowa." Nat looked at him a moment, then gave him a playful nudge.

Bruce chuckled, "Or maybe Lake Woebegone."

They drove for another twenty minutes, winding further into the trees and passing a few homes tucked off to the sides. Alex turned onto a dirt road, marked by nothing except a few battered reflectors nailed to a tree. The truck jostled over the uneven ground and Clint joked, "Do I hear banjos?"

"You'd better hope not, Enos can't carry a tune," Alex joked.

The pulled up in front of a sturdy log house with a boat and trailer parked to one side and a chicken coop around back. Before the engine was off a pair of pit bulls raced around the corner of the house, jumping excitedly as Alex stepped down and immediately swamped her with kisses, Alex laughing and rubbing any part of a dog that stayed still long enough. "Bo," she said breathlessly, pointing to the brown-and-white, "and Ella," nodding to the grey.

Clint was out of the truck like a shot and the dogs swarmed him next. He squatted down to get closer and they knocked him over, so he sat on the ground and grinned, "You didn't tell me that there would be _DOGS!_ "

Nat smirked, "Now we'll never get him to leave."

Bruce stepped down a little more cautiously, but after a few polite sniffs and a scratch behind the ears the dogs' attention turned back to Clint, who was now throwing sticks as fast as they could be retrieved.

"Alex!" A tall, heavyset man in a plaid shirt, suspenders and a hunting cap ambled around the side of the house and swept her into a hug. "I expected you last night, you shoulda called!"

"Sorry Enos, my friends came along for the ride and I forgot to let you know."

He turned to peer at them doubtfully through a thick pair of glasses hung around his neck, but the moment he set eyes on Natasha his face lit up. "Nattie! You came back!" and proceeded to envelop a frozen Natasha in a similar hug.

She patted him on the shoulder, "It's good to see you again, Enos," her smile giving away just how pleased she really was.

Clint snickered, _"Nattie?"_ and she shot him a look of pure venom that just made Clint laugh harder.

"And who are these two?"

"These are my friends, Clint and Bruce, Enos," Alex replied in a tone that suggested 'Enos' could easily be replaced with 'Grampa'.

"Huh. Clint's a proper name- not too many Clints around nowadays." They shook hands, Clint's eyebrows slowly creeping to his hairline as the two men squeezed tighter and tighter. Finally, Enos gave a grunt of approval. "Good man. You the bowhunter?"

Clint tried to shake some feeling back into his reddened fingers and gave Nat and Alex a surprised look. "Yes, sir."

"Good. I'mma bit of a bowhunter myself. We'll go out, shoot a few targets."

Clint got a wicked gleam in his eye, "I'm looking forward to it." Nat rolled her eyes and sighed. _Men._

 _"_ And Bruce, huh? That's not a bad name, either." Bruce looked a little hesitant but put out a hand to shake anyway; Alex came to his rescue.

"Be nice Enos, he's a doctor, he needs his hands."

"A doctor!" Enos lifted his cap to scratch his head, then replaced it. "What kind- people, animal or science-type?"

Bruce stammer a little, "Mostly science, some medical, er, people."

"Well, no wonder she likes ya!" and clapped Bruce hard enough on the back to send him staggering; Bruce rescued his glasses just in time. "Any friend of Alex's is welcome here. There's just three rules..."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Oh Enos, no..." Nat smirked- she'd heard this little speech before.

"No litterin', no pissin' in the lake, and no swimmin' nude, got it?" Alex turned bright red and covered her face with a hand while the other three laughed and solemnly agreed. "Now, ya'll gonna want some fresh eggs I bet, yah?"

They followed him around to the henhouse, Clint nudging Alex with an elbow and waggling his eyebrows while she rolled her eyes. Enos lifted down a wire basket and opened the door to the chicken pen. Natasha stood respectfully outside and Enos chuckled at her, "Yer not still afraid of a few little hens are you, Nattie?"

Nat looked dubiously at the half-dozen red and brown birds and said, "No Enos, just prudent." He chuckled, quickly collecting nearly a dozen brown and pale blue eggs.

"Bring the basket back later this week and I'll make you folks a proper dinner."

"We'll do that Enos," Alex promised, standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his bearded cheek. "I'll give you a call."

Clint looked sad; Bo was leaning against one leg getting his back scratched while Ella rolled on her back, hoping for a belly rub. "Can we bring the dogs?"

Enos laughed and clapped him on the back, "I like you, son! The dogs'll follow whether you want them to or not; I'll whistle 'em back later."

Clint's face lit up and he climbed into the bed of the truck with the dogs. They all waved goodbye to Enos and followed a grass track around a tall stand of trees before paralleling the lake.

"Lake" might be a bit of an exaggeration; it was a little too big for a 'pond' but not really a proper lake, either, and was more-or-less jellybean shaped. The two cabins sat looking over the water in the same direction, but the jut of land and trees in-between kept it private.

The cabin had probably started the same size as Enos', but a newer addition on the back added an extra bedroom and bathroom. The honey-colored logs were warm-looking and a screened porch stretched across the front facing the water. A short dock jutted out into the lake and to the side was a large shed, painted red and white like a barn. They climbed out of the truck and just listened for a moment, hearing only the wind in the trees and the distant _ratta-tat-tat_ of a woodpecker somewhere off in the distance. Alex gave them a wide grin, "Welcome to the cabin!"


	6. At the Cabin

They gathered their bags and Alex unlocked the cabin. The main room had a low, beamed ceiling and field-stone fireplace. A wooden table large enough to seat six flanked the front door across from a bookshelf with a mish-mash of paperbacks, field guides and a few board games. A couple battered couches with an overstuffed armchair surrounded the fireplace. Off to the left was the kitchen, while on the right was a short hallway with a bathroom and three bedrooms.

"Dibs on the queen bed," Nat called and eeled past Clint, who protested with a 'Hey!'

"I thought you might want the bunk beds, Clint," Alex offered and his face lit up. "Dogs  _and_ bunk beds? This place is awesome!" She opened the middle door to a handmade bunk bed, firmly built into the wall. Clint vaulted up while the dogs circled below, barking in excitement. Alex opened the closet doors, revealing cedar-lined shelves with sheets and blankets zipped in plastic. She threw one up to Clint and Nat reappeared long enough to snag hers and mutter something about '...and a quilt'. Alex backtracked and showed Bruce the first bedroom that sported a full-sized bed.

"This was my brother's room," she explained, putting the sheets and a heavy wool blanket on the foot of the bed, "it can get cool at night." The rooms were a little musty and Alex opened the window looking out over the water.

"This is great, thank you," he smiled, and Alex grinned in return. "Are you sharing a room?"

Alex looked startled a moment, "What?" then colored when she realized what Bruce as asking. "Oh! No, my room is the new addition," she led back to the main room and opened a door between the fireplace and the kitchen. "We added this when I was in high school and we started bringing friends. It was supposed to be mom and dad's, but after mom passed Dad moved back into his old room. Jesse stays in your room and the girls in Clint's. Somehow this room ended up mine, but I love it."

Alex opened the curtains and Bruce stared at the view. The cabin was situated on a slight rise before sloping down to the pond. Behind the house the slope rose up into a wall of dark green forest less than twenty yards from the back of the cabin. The queen bed faced the trees, and Bruce realized that the back of the fireplace would help keep the room warm in the winter. At one side was a small closet and desk looking out at the forest, and on the other a tiny private bathroom.

"You said there are hiking trails?"

"Yep- a pretty decent one circles the property. Probably tomorrow I'll take you folks out and rope you into some trail maintenance," she grinned as she started unpacking.

They congregated in the main room and Alex gave them the rest of the tour. The kitchen had a well-stocked pantry and table large enough for the four of them. She hung the basket of eggs from a hook and they unloaded the other groceries. A side door opened from the kitchen with a woodshed built onto the end of the house that was half-full of seasoned logs. They walked over to the barn and Alex unlocked the heavy padlock, revealing a combination workshop and boat house with a pair of well-used canoes propped in the rafters.

"The pond isn't really big enough for canoeing, but we can borrow Enos' trailer if we want to go out on one of the rivers or the big lake." In the distance a faint whistle blew; the dogs perked their ears, then raced off.

"Aww, dogs..." Clint looked crestfallen.

"Don't worry, they'll be back," Alex grinned as she pulled out a propane grill. "Besides, it will be easier to cook without them underfoot- help me with this." They rolled the grill onto the concrete slab in front of the shed. Behind the shed was a picnic table and benches stacked under a tarp. They set things up and Clint started warming the grill while Alex threw together vegetable kabobs and barbecue sauce for the chicken breasts they'd picked up earlier. Natasha produced a six-pack of hard cider she'd acquired without anyone noticing, and Bruce located a bird book and binoculars from the bookshelf in the main room to try and identify the ducks and diving birds out on the water (unsurprisingly, Clint knew them all off the top of his head). They roasted ears of corn on the grill and ate, chatting together quietly as the sun set. The dogs reappeared and happily cleaned plates, and Alex insisted that they all spray themselves if they didn't want to be eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Eventually they retreated up onto the screen porch as the stars came out. "No set schedule for tomorrow so feel free to sleep in. I tend to be up early, but you're not obligated to get up on my account," Alex offered. Natasha turned in with a Russian book she'd brought with her; Clint peeked in to find her snuggled under a massive quilt, nibbling crackers while she read. Bruce set up in the arm chair under the floor lamp, glasses perched on the end of his nose as he caught up on a backlog of journal articles he'd been meaning to read. Alex puttered around, cleaning up, so Clint stretched out on a couch feeling it was too early to go bed, only to be woken a couple hours later by Bruce to find someone had tucked a blanket around his shoulders and the rest of the cabin quiet and dark. They both turned in, and Bruce left the window in his room open as he stretched out under the blanket, listening to the night sounds of crickets and frogs singing down by the pond, and catching the occasional flash of a firefly. He felt the most at peace he had in ages, and for once slept without dreams.

***

It was fairly late by the time Bruce finally woke up, his travel clock showing a shocking 9:30 am. Around the side of the house someone was chopping wood, and he threw on shorts and a t-shirt. In the kitchen he stopped long enough to collect the plate with one of Alex's omelettes keeping warm for him. He smiled, then stepped out the kitchen door to an amusing scene:

Natasha and dragged one of the folding lounge chairs out of the shed and was set up with her book, sunglasses and bikini, but she wasn't reading. Alex perched on the stairs and shifted over so Bruce could join her. Her hair was in a high ponytail and she wore a t-shirt and cutoffs, looking dirty and sweaty; Alex might have started copping wood, but Clint had taken over and had shed his shirt, working in only a pair of sunglasses and ratty cargo shorts.

"Hm- if I knew there was a show I would have gotten up sooner," Bruce mused and both women grinned.

"He does like an audience," Nat admitted.

"Like what you see, Doc?" Clint posed with the hatchet over one shoulder and flexed to a round of laughter. Bruce ate breakfast while they chatted.

"Chopping wood is an unending chore around here. Dad's not up for it any more, and Jesse is nervous about the girls doing it, so I do most of the chopping when I'm up here so they don't have to worry about it."

"I can take a turn if you like, Clint," Bruce offered.

"Sure!" Clint handed over the ax and collapsed on the grass, stretched out in the sun. "You going to take your shirt off, Doc?" he asked with a twinkle.

Bruce blushed but smiled and said, "No, I can't compete."

Nat watched closely, "I thought you weren't into exerting yourself?"

Bruce chopped away steadily with a smile, "Chopping wood is very therapeutic, meditative even. And I love a wood fire, so that's a nice reward."

"There's a fire circle down by the pond; we can build a bonfire one night if you like," Alex suggested. She starting stacking the wood Clint had chopped and Nat turned back to her book while Bruce worked steadily for half an hour.

He finally put down the ax and wiped his face on his shirt, "I'm more out of shape than I thought."

"How about a swim, then?" Alex nudged Clint with her foot, "Did you fall asleep again?"

"Hmm, maybe?" he grinned.

Nat stood and placed her hat and sunglasses on the chair. "He'll sleep the whole two weeks if you let him. Come on, lazy, help me inflate the inner tubes."

"Inner tubes? Really? I love this place!" Clint scrambled up and sprinted for the shed. By the time Alex and Bruce came out int heir suits Nat was already floating serenely off the end of the dock. Clint passed the second to Bruce and started the third for Alex.

Bruce tentatively dipped a foot in and Natasha smirked, "Just jump in."

Clint suddenly yelled, "Coming through!" and raced past Bruce, doing a cannonball off the end of the dock and soaking both of them. Alex threw him a tube, laughing, and Nat glared, Clint quickly moving away from her immediate area. Bruce laughed in resignation and jumped in, making himself comfortable on his tube and Alex joined them. They paddled around, occasionally splashing each other. Clint dipped under a few times, until one time her was under longer than most.

Nat just had time to mutter "Uh-oh," when an arm snaked out of the water and flipped Alex over. After that it was a waterfight free-for-all, Bruce mostly hanging at the edges and laughing at the antics. Clint finally settled down and the three floated in their tubes.

Clint propped his feet on the dock so he wouldn't float away and closed his eyes, "I could take a nap in this." Bruce had waded out of the water and was watching him thoughtfully, a slow smile creeping across his face. Nat caught it and quickly moved her tube away from Clint's, motioning for Alex to do the same. Alex's face made an "O" of realization and she backpedaled, Clint oblivious. Starting from the grass, Bruce charged to the end of the dock. Clint opened his eyes just in time to see a massive shadow pass over his head before a huge wave lifted him, tube and all, and toppled him onto the dock. He scrambled up to find both women laughing uproariously and Hulk sitting in the pond looking completely surprised.

"Hulk wet?"

Alex splashed over and pulled herself up on the end of the dock so they could talk face-to-face.

"Hi Hulk! Welcome to the cabin!"

He looked around, confused at first but a slow smile stretched across his features. "Hulk outside?" He looked around the pond and batted at Alex's tube, watching it bob up and down. "Hulk swim?"

"Yes, this is my cabin. You're welcome to swim and play here, you just need one of us with you, okay?"

Hulk nodded, then stood up, watching the water drain off him, then laughing, he fell backwards into the water almost swamping Nat. Clint jumped off the dock and talked Hulk into letting him dive off his shoulder, then from the palm of an upraised hand. At one point Hulk managed to turn two tubes into water wings (although they barely made it to his elbows) and Nat snapped some pictures with her cell phone from a safe distance on the shore.

Eventually Hulk lost interest in the novelty of the the pond and Alex walked around the cabin with him, the sedative tucked in her shorts pocket. He stuck his head in the barn shed and peered in the windows of the cabin.

"Too small."

"I think you're right," Alex conceded, "but it's too nice out to be inside anyway."

Hulk gave a "Hmm", looking around at the forest. "Hulk like trees."

"You've been in the forest before, haven't you?" Alex perched on the beech tree that had fallen near the start of the trail. He nodded, still looking around. Alex crawled over the tree, "Do you want to walk the trail with me?"

Hulk was looking critically at the tree in the path. "Tree fall down?"

"Yes, there was a big storm last winter. I haven't had a chance to cut it up for firewood yet."

"Hulk move tree?"

Alex blinked in surprise, "If you don't mind that would be a big help, Hulk. If you could just swing it around so it's not blocking the trail..."

Hulk grunted in satisfaction and easily lifted the tree, walking it around to where Alex pointed. He set it down and looked at her hopefully.

"Thank you! You just made my job a lot easier- you can visit the cabin any time!"

Hulk grinned and his chest swelled with pride. Alex started along the trail but Hulk looked after her doubtfully, "Trees short."

Alex looked back and forth between the Hulk and the low overhanging branches, "Sorry Hulk, I guess you're right. We can lie out in the sun, though!" She darted inside and returned with a beach towel and a queen-sized blanket that she spread out on the grass for Hulk. They laid in the sun and Clint joined them, looking at the shapes in the clouds. It took a bit for Hulk to catch on to the game, but he identified one cloud that they agreed did look like a truck, and another that looked like a tree.

Eventually, Clint moved to the shade where he'd strung one of the hammocks he'd found in the shed.

Alex caught Hulk blinking sleepily. "Do you want to take a nap?"

He nodded and yawned, "Hulk sleep now." He threw an arm over his eyes and dozed off. Alex watched mesmerized as Hulk shrank back to Bruce, who continued to sleep in the sun. Alex bit her lip and went to chat with Natasha in the shade, then found a straw cowboy hat in the house that she carefully placed over Bruce's face when he moved his arm away. There was a heated debate but they agreed to let him sleep an hour and if he didn't wake up throw a sheet over him so he wouldn't sunburn.

Alex hung three more hammocks where she and Nat swung lazily and chatted as Clint snored, the more egregious snorts making both women laugh. Eventually a very confused Bruce woke up and joined them in the fourth hammock. He pulled on a t-shirt, but to their delight took a liking to the hat and Natasha gleefully snapped a few pictures to send back to the team. They finally roused Clint for a late lunch, and made plans for the afternoon.


End file.
